Number of positive integers that are not divisible by 17

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around finding the number of positive integers within the range of 1976 to 3776 that are not divisible by 17. Participants explore various methods to approach the problem, including counting integers and identifying multiples of 17.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Mathematical reasoning, Problem interpretation

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss counting the total integers in the specified range and subtracting those that are multiples of 17. There are questions about how to isolate the multiples of 17 and the implications of using floor functions in calculations.

Discussion Status

Several participants have provided insights into counting methods and have shared examples to clarify the approach. There is an ongoing exploration of the correct counting of multiples of 17, with some participants expressing differing results and questioning the calculations involved.

Contextual Notes

Some participants mention the potential for overcounting when using floor functions and discuss the implications of cardinality in the context of the problem. There is also a reference to homework constraints regarding the methods of solution.

Dustinsfl
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Find the number of positive integers in the range of 1976 through 3776 that are not divisible by 17.

[tex]A=[/tex]{[tex]\mathbb{Z}^+\ \mbox{not divisible by 17}[/tex]}

Then I am looking for [tex]A^c[/tex]

I am not sure how to do this though.
 
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17 | 1989.
Count the number of integers in [1976, 3776] - there are an odd number of them, and subtract all the numbers that are multiples of 17.
 
So if I think of the set of integers as set, I want the card(3776)-card(1976) but I don't understand how to isolate the integers that are divisible by 17.
 
Here's a similar example. If I ask you how many multiples of 17 are there between 2*17 and 5*17 inclusive, what would you say?
 
Tedjn said:
Here's a similar example. If I ask you how many multiples of 17 are there between 2*17 and 5*17 inclusive, what would you say?

[tex]\left \lfloor \frac{85}{17} \right \rfloor-\left \lfloor \frac{34}{17} \right \rfloor + 1[/tex]
 
How many integers are in the interval [1976, 3776]? In the interval [a, b], with a and b integers and b > a, there are b - a + 1 integers.

The first integer in your interval that is divisible by 17 is 1789. What's the next? And the next? Keep doing that until you run past the end of the interval, and keep track of how many you have found.

That's sort of a "brute force" way of doing it. There might be a more elegant way, but this should be pretty quick.

BTW, what is card(3776) supposed to mean? You can talk about the cardinality of a set, but it doesn't seem very useful to talk about the cardinality of a single number.
 
Dustinsfl said:
[tex]\left \lfloor \frac{85}{17} \right \rfloor-\left \lfloor \frac{34}{17} \right \rfloor + 1[/tex]
Simplified, this is what?
 
Mark44 said:
How many integers are in the interval [1976, 3776]? In the interval [a, b], with a and b integers and b > a, there are b - a + 1 integers.

The first integer in your interval that is divisible by 17 is 1789. What's the next? And the next? Keep doing that until you run past the end of the interval, and keep track of how many you have found.

That's sort of a "brute force" way of doing it. There might be a more elegant way, but this should be pretty quick.

BTW, what is card(3776) supposed to mean? You can talk about the cardinality of a set, but it doesn't seem very useful to talk about the cardinality of a single number.

I didn't feel like labeling a set B and C which would be the number of integers divisible by 17
 
Mark44 said:
Simplified, this is what?

That would simply be 4
 
  • #10
Dustinsfl said:
That would simply be 4
Yes. A simple answer is better than a complicated answer.

Now extend this idea to find the multiples of 17 in the interval [1976, 3776]. Find the smallest multiple of 17 (1989) and the largest multiple in this interval, and use the same technique you used to get 4.
 
  • #11
Mark44 said:
Yes. A simple answer is better than a complicated answer.

Now extend this idea to find the multiples of 17 in the interval [1976, 3776]. Find the smallest multiple of 17 (1989) and the largest multiple in this interval, and use the same technique you used to get 4.

[tex]3776-1976+1-\left(\left \lfloor \frac{3776}{17} \right \rfloor - \left \lfloor \frac{1976}{17} \right \rfloor + 1\right)=1694[/tex]

The answer is supposed to be 1695 though.
 
  • #13
Mark44 said:
That's what I get.

What do you get? 1694 or 1695?
 
  • #14
1695. I spoke too soon before.

There are 1801 integers in the interval [1776, 3776], and there are 106 numbers in that intervale that are multiples of 17.
 
  • #15
Dustinsfl said:
[tex]3776-1976+1-\left(\left \lfloor \frac{3776}{17} \right \rfloor - \left \lfloor \frac{1976}{17} \right \rfloor + 1\right)=1694[/tex]

The answer is supposed to be 1695 though.

Well, you shouldn't floor the 3776-one. That would make you over count by one.
Say we know there are 1801 numbers. We want to know how many are divisible by 17. Take the lowest and highest number:
1976/17=116.something
3776/17=222.something'
this means that the 117th number divisible by 17 is in there, and the 222nd is too. But you floored that 222.something making it 223, which is not (!) there, making you over count by one.
So we get 222-116=106 numbers divisible by 17. Subtract this from the number of numbers (tihi) and get 1801-106=1695
 

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